First Alaska cruise Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm Fjord?

[vbmom87]

Please let me know how you like the Alaska cruise on Princess. We have not done that one yet, and I am really looking forward to getting it on our agenda. We are on the east coast, so it is a long trip to get there, and I was wondering if we should take the cruise tour inland while we are there. Everyone I spoke to who has been to Alaska said it is wonderful. I have never heard a negative thing about it.

 

Many do love their cruise tours. I have read of many on this forum who have been very pleased. We also have friends and relatives who took the Holland American cruise tours and loved them. A lot depends on your travel preferences. Many people, for various reasons, just do not like to do a lot of planning, so they sign up for a cruise tour. Even though they loved their tours, often they simply do not know what they missed.

 

Even if you do not like to plan our own vacations, you do need to do research before choosing a cruise tour. As mentioned by BQ many just don't realize what they have booked. They see Denali in the description and think they are getting something they are not. Besides many travelers being misled with the Natural History Tour, you need to fully understand the times to avoid. Many sign up for the early May cruise tours. However, the road into Denali is not fully cleared and open until June 8. If you book in early May, you will not get far into the park. The tour brochures do not spell out when the road will be open to the distance of the tour they are providing. They print one brochure for the season. There will be a disclaimer in the fine print saying itineraries may have to be changed. The thing is they know this ahead of time, but do not make it clear. It would be nice if they listed what tour you would get for each date. It is not rocket science, but they don't want the customer to know this, because then many would avoid those dates and they would have to offer the cabins at lower prices.

 

Another situation involves Tracy Arm. It is typically very iced out in May. Again people will book certain cruises in May because of price, but then be disappointed when their cruise ship does not get into one of the scenic areas they had hoped to. This can also happen with Hubbard Glacier. I have read many reviews where cruise ships could only get miles away from Hubbard because of ice. When we went to Hubbard last year we got very close. As we approached the glacier the ranger would tell us how close we were at the time. I remember being at the 6 mile mark and remembering some on the earlier cruises had reported only getting to the 6 mile mark. I thought, what a disappointment that would be. It was not impressive at all from that far away. So, whether you book a cruise tour or plan your own land tour, do your homework, so you get the most out of your trip.

 

You have to decide what you want to see in Alaska and then choose accordingly. When we planned our first trip to Alaska in 2008, my DH definitely wanted to do a cruise tour. We had done a bus tour in Europe and he absolutely loved it!!! However, after reading this forum and reading many books about Alaska and deciding what I wanted to see, I could not find a cruise tour where I would see all I wanted to. It took some convincing, but my DH finally agreed to an independent tour. It worked out great and was not that hard to plan.

 

My suggestion is to do your research, find out what you really want to see and do in Alaska and then find how to best accomplish that. It might be independent travel, it might be a cruise tour. Just know what you are getting. And please don't rely on a travel agent to know all this. You will find far more accurate information on this forum. There is a TA who was on the first Alaska sailing on the Zuiderdam this year. She seemed surprised they did not go to Tracy Arm since it was listed on her itinerary. To me, a knowlegable TA would have known that the likelihood of getting into Tracy Arm the first of May was slim.

 

Good luck with your planning. Alaska is an amazing place that keeps calling me back.

[Gidget22]

vbmom87 - thanks for the information. Some posts are just negative and this is not helpful, but your post is informative and gives me something to look for as I do my research! Thanks again!

[vbmom87]

vbmom87 - thanks for the information. Some posts are just negative and this is not helpful, but your post is informative and gives me something to look for as I do my research! Thanks again!

 

Glad to help. If you decide on a cruise tour and one of your priorities is Denali (it may or not be, so it is important to figure that out), then look for a cruise tour that includes two nights in Denali. Next look to make sure the cruise tour includes the Tundra Wilderness Tour (TWT) rather than the Natural History Tour. The Natural History Tour will get you 17 miles in the park. The TWT will get you 53 miles into the park. There are other shuttles/tours that will get you even further into the park. Below are links to the shuttle buses and tour buses in Denali. The shuttles are cheaper and you can get off and on if you like. They are less expensive than the tour buses. The tour buses cost more and you don't have the option of getting off and on. They include a snack box and these buses have a monitor that the driver can zoom in on wildlife when it is spotted. Both travel the same road. I have only been on the shuttle, as we wanted to book a trip further into the park. We chose the Wonder Lake shuttle that went 85 miles into the park.

 

If you go with Princess, it has been reported that they will let you upgrade to the TWT if your tour allows enough time. Again, this is key to do the research first. Some people will actually just cancel the Natural History Tour and book their own shuttle. So far it seems that Princess will give you the refund. Other cruise tours do not seem to give you a refund, so you would be losing that, but gaining a far better tour. Canceling and booking something else does take some effort. Some people are willing to do that, others are not. Just decide what will work out best for you. There is not right or wrong way to travel. We all have our own preferences. As you say, Alaska is a costly trip esp. from the east coast. You want to get it right and give yourself the best experience possible. If you haven't gotten Fodder's or Fodder's Alaska books that would be a good start. Your local library should have them. After doing some reading, you should have a better idea of what your priorities might be. They are likely to be different from other people. Once you know what you want to see and do, you will be better able to take the plunge and plan a great trip for you.

 

 

Denali Shuttle info:

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

Denali Tour Bus info:

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm